How do I love myself more?  This question is not about self image issues that girls usually have. I don't have issues regarding looks or body image, most of the time I am fine with it.  I don't even hate myself.  But deep down I feel like I don't love myself. Like it's all hollow there. There's no hate. But also there is no love there.  It feels empty inside. I have empathy for other people and I quickly reach out to people who need help or support.  One day a friend of mine said to me - "you are good at taking care of others, but you fail to take good care of yourself."  I never feel like I'm important enough. It is always others others others.  My family never taught me that I was important enough. In fact they always did the reverse.  I was always told to sacrifice myself for others.  As a result if I needed help, I never asked  I would help others in my family but never myself.  I would schedule appointments for my mother but not for me.  If she needed to eat, I would go hungry that night    The problem is that all this tendency has bottled up over the years to where I no longer feel myself deeply    I feel like a dead tree dying.  I feel like I never have myself. There is always something more important to do and it's not related to me.  Deep down I feel tons of self pity because I was made to feel undeserving of anything good for years as a child.  I was tirelessly nitpicked on by my mother, constantly criticised  If I ate an extra morsel I was called selfish. I developed a shadow against self care and selfishness.  If I felt uncomfortable doing something for her, I was labelled selfish  If I felt lazy or unwell and did not schedule her appointments, I was called selfish and useless.  It was as though my whole life was a duty to others  I have come to realize that this pattern dominated my life and caused me immense suffering to the point that if someone showed me love and acceptance I would break down in tears  I never felt loved and accepted by my family, except for my dad who died years ago and I don't have much of a memory of him. Feeling isolated and disowned by my own family made me feel very vulnerable and unworthy.      How do I feel strong enough to love myself from deep within?  The inner  feeling of worthlessness doesn't go away no matter how hard I try